A/N: Ok, the story seriously starts here now!


~~~~~One-More~~~~~

"Today you will lose, Mael!" Elizabeth smirks confidently, pointing the blade of her sword towards the most powerful Archangel.

Over the years, she grown more knowledgeable and capable in the fields of combat and her powers. What had started out as forced sparring sessions and aching muscles, soon became a collection of blades, smaller, stealthier weapons and even a vast knowledge on hand-to-hand combat.

However even with a plethora of choice weapons and techniques, Elizabeth had always favoured her first sword. It was a simple thing, a silver blade owning an aquamarine gemstone, golden embellishments and a pair of wings on the hilt. Smooth and devoid of nicks and scrapes, the weapon looked almost brand new. You wouldn't think that she'd owned it for years upon years upon years. Thick and potent, a blessed aura spread from the metal. Within a matter of moments, the feeling could enshroud a room and make anyone with a darkened heart feel weak or queasy.

Elizabeth particularly liked this weapon as it helped stifle the more impure side of her blood. The overwhelming sonorous wave of her lighter side allowed her to ignore the crashing, violent wave of her darker side. It helped keep her stable and control the darkness thrashing about inside her.

But no-one else knew that.

"You said that last time, Elizabeth," Mael chuckles, his kind eyes creasing with the gesture. However despite his humour, he also prepares to battle with her - his stance is wide, a sword also fixed into his grip.

With his lightly coloured hair, bright blue eyes and overall friendly demeanour, Mael was the complete contrast of his brother, Ludociel. However there were many similarities, such as their distaste of the demon race or their joint interests in the running of Britannia. But unlike Ludociel, Mael was the more friendly and open brother. He didn't look at Elizabeth as if she were trash, he didn't treat her differently because of the corrupt power that traveled through her veins. Mael was her friend. One of Elizabeth's few friends.

"Let's see then," Elizabeth returns his humour with a simple smile, her blue eyes glazing over to darken just a smidgen.

This time, she was serious. She wanted to prove to her mother that she was finally ready to be unleashed into the big, wide world.

Not that she didn't like her home, but Elizabeth felt that her tiny village was just a tiny place in a bigger and more vast world. Tales of oceans, pirates and thieves had reached her from local travelers and merchants. They told her of bandits with wonderful treasure hoards, knights who were more powerful than hundreds of men and a fountain that granted immortality.

Before she had to risk her life to fight a malevolent force, Elizabeth wanted to experience these things. She wanted to swim in an ocean, taste fancy foods and see the other wonders of the world. She didn't want to die ignorant.

But to do that, she had to defeat Mael. It was the only way to prove she was ready and able to defend herself. And today was her final chance to do so.

The fight began in an instant, both parties cautiously circling one another. Mael was calm and measured, unreadable as he watched Elizabeth stroll. Elizabeth was cool and calculating, her blue eyes noting the position of the sun as she tightened her grasp on the hooks in her sword belt.

She had a little more than fifteen minutes.

In an instant, the female pounced, springing forwards from the balls of her feet and seeming to aim for Mael's left. He goes to block it, and just misses her attack to the right, a small dagger being drawn from the neckline of her tunic.

At the attack, Mael grabs her wrist, throwing her backwards. Elizabeth lands on her behind, quickly scrambling back to her feet.

"That wasn't a very smart idea," Mael tsks, eyeing her from across the area. From the look he gives her, Elizabeth knows he is onto her planning.

"You sure?" Elizabeth raises a brow, glancing at the spot she had just stabbed. She wears a small, innocent smile, contrasting the lethal weapon she could be when provoked.

"Yes - " Mael went to heal the wound, but nothing happened. Instead it grew worse, slowly spreading across his skin. The Archangel frowned, once again glancing at Elizabeth.

"I figured out how to reverse the effects of healing," Elizabeth explain casually, her fingers once again hooked into her belt. She flashes a smile, pulling her sword from its sheath. "It's quite a handy trick to harness -"

"And also taps into your other side..." Mael finishes, nodding as he ignores the wound. It seems he must finish this fight quickly, or else Elizabeth will surely win. But then again, the sun will be at its peak in a few minutes - then he can end this.

"Smart, aren't you?" Elizabeth giggles, already calculating her next move. She may admit that she was not a clean fighter, but at times she was stealthy with reason. It was the only way she could win against stronger entities like Mael.

Blue eyes scanning his form, Elizabeth began to think of what attack she could pull next. Her reverse-healing was already spreading through his system, opening the wound little by little, but that wouldn't be enough. She'd have to knock him out or render him powerless.

Elizabeth frowns at the notion, pulling out a handful of her hidden daggers. It seems she must reveal the ace she had up her sleeve.

Mael readies for the attack, his sword raised to deflect any offending daggers. He didn't know what other surprises Elizabeth had embedded with them, so he had to be extra careful when blocking her attacks.

A whistling sound - clang!

One by one, each of Elizabeth's daggers had been deflected in one skillful move. They all fell dead to the ground, their toxins and enchantments rendered useless once there.

Mael released a sigh, knowing that anymore hits would've cost him the match. Elizabeth had grown wise in the department of enchantments and lacing metals with toxins, using those abilities to hone her power and skill. As a result, she had grown dangerous - wild - her loyalty only decided by the fact that she was honour-bound to the goddess race.

But how long would that bond last?

"Look out!" The female came from above, her sword clashing harshly with Mael's. Her blue eyes were now screened with a deep, deep, onyx, masking the once cerulean depths. Lithe but also gentle arms were now pushing with a force that did not belong to such a kind face, the metal of the swords creating sparks with each shift. Elizabeth's teeth push into her bottom lip, drawing blood, but she seems to not care.

"You've gotten better, that's for sure," Mael chuckles, pushing against her force and weight. His foot shifts forwards, scuffing the ground. "But not better than me."

In one burst of power, the Archangel knocks Elizabeth away. She lands on the ground, her weapon pushed aside and her arms and legs flailing to get back up once more. Ultimately, she moves too slow, Mael already claiming his victory.

The Archangel towers over her, a triumphant smile on display. He leans down to meet her eye-level, his nose inches from hers. "I win."

Oddly, Elizabeth feels her cheeks redden. Her stomach feels tingly, like a thousand butterflies are swarming within it. She can't take her eyes off Mael's smug face.

This was new... She had never felt this before.

"You've improved wonderfully, Elizabeth!" A proud smile forms on the young woman's face as she hears those words. Her gaze automatically snaps to her mother, who applauds proudly at the sight of her grown daughter. "Just wonderfully, darling!"

Blood. She can smell it, detect it.

Elizabeth blinks, frowning as she studies her opponent. Then there, right on his arm, was a slice dripping crimson fluid.

"I did it!" Elizabeth beamed, jumping up from the ground and pointing to Mael's arm. "I did! I did it! I did it! I managed to get a proper hit on Mael!"

The sound of her joy was met with wide, encouraging smiles. It seems that Elizabeth has done herself and her mother proud today.


~~~~~One-More~~~~~

A sharp hiss leaves grit teeth as Elizabeth examines her scabbed over knuckles. As expected, training today had been extra harsh. Extra, extra harsh. It was getting hard to keep up her certain and cocky forefront.

"I guess I'm not completely ready..." Elizabeth sighs, already pulling gloves over her injured knuckles. Even though she could heal the injuries, it felt more worthwhile to let them heal. It would teach her to not make the same mistake again.

Blue eyes glancing to the sword that lay on the rock, another sigh leaves the weighted female. Someone like her, an unworthy half-breed, did not deserve to wield such a beautiful and powerful weapon.

Even now, Elizabeth could read the sheer power that was radiating from the blade, could sense it conflicting with her more darker side, and knew that she was limiting its use by being its owner. She was wasting its potential; she was wasting everyone's potential.

Yet they still chose to deal with her.

Great crystal tears formed in Elizabeth's eyes, wet and glimmering as she sniffed. Their salty trails ran down her skin, cool and moist, and helped to calm down the flaring heat of her flushed almost instantly, the familiar trails of darkness were crawling all over her skin, like the soft, sensual tracings of a finger, and Elizabeth couldn't help but shiver. She never liked when her other side emerged.

'No,' The young woman scolds herself, biting into her lower lip. Her nails hook into the supple skin of her arms, digging. 'I will not lose control.'

As if snuffed out like a candle, the darkness stops spreading on Elizabeth's skin. Shrinking back to its tiny corners and dwellings, the inky power disappeared completely from her body. All that remained was the blazing memory of the darkness and what it did to her. All that was left was the fear of what she could do.

"It's gone for now..."

Her arms wrapped around her shoulders, Elizabeth lets out a great big exhale. It's shaky, uncertain, as she sits on the grass, her silver tresses billowing in the wind. Then, as quickly as she had banished the darkness, the female leapt up and grabbed her sword.

It was time to pray: praying always helped to get rid of the darkness for a while.


~~~~~One-More~~~~~

Elizabeth sighs, taking a satisfied bite from her apple as she watched the sun set. Roaring reds and opulent oranges meet her eyes, tinges of pretty pinks and gorgeous grays melding into the shifting sky. A few puffed cotton clouds floated along the horizon, most already dyed to matched the setting orb of the sun.

Up here, on the towered roof of the local church, was her favourite spot in the whole village. It was a spot where Elizabeth could go to escape everything: her mother, the village's people and even her destiny sometimes. Up here was often where she escaped after praying. The wind would whip and kiss the wet flesh of her face, her hair would blow and flit like it did in the sky, and Elizabeth could imagine that up here, on that church rooftop, she was on the deck of great, big ship. She could pretend she was on an adventure.

Up here, in the clouds, above the whole world, Elizabeth was free to be herself.

Well, she mostly was when she was alone.

"So...you're nearly eighteen," An auburn-brunette smirks, nudging the silver-haired female as she takes a hearty bite out of her own apple. Her cat's eyes shift towards Elizabeth, sparkling with bright and mischievous mirth. "One more night to go~"

A grimace automatically fixes onto Elizabeth's lips, the female rolling her eyes.

"Don't remind me, Dinah..." Elizabeth groans, shaking her head. Her silver hair bounces, catching the fading rays of the sun. "It means - I have to leave when I turn eighteen, you know that."

Dinah blinks in confusion, her brows furrowing. Her lips press. "But haven't you always wanted to leave?"

'Yes, I have,' Elizabeth wants to say that more than anything. She wants to let everyone know of her wish, her dream, to finally leave this tiny village in which she was bred and reared. But that was sadly impossible.

Elizabeth couldn't reveal her true wishes - not now. She was on the cusp of young adulthood, a day away from her pre-written destiny, and nothing could waver that.

Nothing could drag her away from her predetermined fate.

"It's...complicated," Elizabeth bites into her lower lip, carefully setting her half-bitten apple aside. Another small sigh leaves her lips, her cerulean gaze settling on the still sinking sun in the sky. "Too complicated."

"And complicated is my favourite thing," Dinah chimes in, shuffling closer towards her friend. Unlike Elizabeth, the brunette easily chucks her apple towards the ground below. "Especially 'too complicated'. Now spill, Elizabeth. Why don't you wanna leave?"

A pair of keen jade eyes capture Elizabeth's cerulean ones, trapping her in an impossible stare. Dinah had always used this trick against her - the staring her down. Ever since they were children, Elizabeth always found herself bound to tell the truth when Dinah stared her down. She could never lie under its pressure - perhaps that was because Dinah was descended from sorcerers, but Elizabeth just figured it was because she felt guilty lying to someone's face.

"I won't feel ready," Elizabeth admits quietly, her face feeling warm as she turns away. Her legs swing over the stone turret of the church, the cool surface causing goosebumps to form. "All my life, I've trained to get ready and leave this place. But being sent away - by my mother of all people - feels as if I haven't learned enough in the time I was given. It feels like I'm only being sent away because there's no time left..."

At Elizabeth's explanation, Dinah's expression softens. Her intense gaze turns into one of concern, the auburn-brunette wrapping her friend into a sideways hug.

"You're ready, Elizabeth," Dinah smiles, her voice soft as she sits beside the girl. Her legs also swing from the turret, much more longer and tan than Elizabeth's own. "You've always been ready."

"But - "

"Nope, you are and that's final!" Dinah cracks a larger, magical grin, her catlike eyes glimmering with small sparks. A laugh builds in the back of her throat, loud and bubbly. "No take backsies!"

At Dinah's childish manner, Elizabeth giggles. Her cheeks warm a little, brightened by her friend's humor.

"Thanks, Dinah," Elizabeth whispers, turning her gaze back to the sunset.

She had one more day; One more day to enjoy the peace of her childhood.